Sonic and Knuckles Sandopolis

Sonic and Knuckles Sandopolis

While Michael Jackson's music is all over most of Sonic 3's music, he had nothing to do with the second part of Sonic 3 (AKA S&K). That's probably the reason the music for S&K sounds different and doesn't have that R&B/New Jack Swing sound. S&K and S3 were meant to be one game but had to be split into two games.

One of the few songs I liked on S&K was this one Sandopolis. Here's the best part; Sandopolis Act 2 is a completely different version of the theme. It is much slower and creepier, probably because there are actually ghosts in the later acts of this stage. Act 2 sounds so different that I wouldn't call it a remix like the other stages.

Again, I liked the music in S3 better, but I really like these songs. 

 

Nice Arrangement of Home Guldove From Chrono Cross

Nice Arrangement of Home Guldove From Chrono Cross

I've loved Chrono Cross' music since its release years ago. I love this arrangement by Moonbow Music. Here's the coolest part. The original composer (Yasunori Mitsuda) of this piece posted the You Tube video on his own Facebook page.

The Home World version of this song is very joyful and fast while the Another World version is slow, somber and distant. As I stated before the Home World versions of the CC songs are fast and joyful while the Another World versions are distance.

And, here's the Another World version.

No more Jack Ryan for Chris Pine

No more Jack Ryan for Chris Pine

Movie-fone did an interview with Chris Pine (Captain Kirk) where he revealed he's not coming back for another Jack Ryan movie.

From Moviefone, ((No. I don't think it made enough money for that to happen. That's one of my deep regrets, that we didn't totally get that right. It's a great franchise and if it's not me then I hope it gets a fifth life at this point. It's just great. I love the spy genre. I hope it's done again and with a great story. ))

 Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit was somewhat a disappointment for the studio and Paramount strangely released the movie in January of this year. January is a dumping ground for studios to get rid of movies they don't have faith in. The movie was supposed to be released in Dec 2013, but got pushed back. This is clearly an indication that the studio wasn't pleased with the finished product.

I found it strange that they decided to do a reboot considering the last one was a reboot too. So, you had a reboot of a reboot to some sequels. Strange. I also got some Alex Cross vibes from this movie too, and we know how that movie turned out. Oh boy.

It is refreshing to see a star speak frankly about a project. I know that Rogen wasn't pleased with The Green Hornet. 

Some reboots work like the James Bond one while others don't work. 

 

The Interview (Part 1 of 2)

The Interview (Part 1 of 2)

Kim is a bro?

 After all the controversy and bullshit, the comedy The Interview has finally been released.  Was it worth the talk and crap?  Was it funny? On both questions, I have to say yes.  Surprisingly, it actually reminded me of This is The End with its sometimes-violent scenes.  It is a mixture of slapstick and black humor.  While I don’t laugh that much with comedies I enjoy (I usually just smile), I found myself laughing a few times and that’s a good thing.  (I watched the movie on Google Play after figuring out you can only use Chrome to use GP.)

Like everyone knows, Dave Skylark (Franco) is a shitty interview guy that does merely fluff pieces and Seth Rogen is his producer.  Rogen discovers that Kim Jong-un is a huge fan of Skylark.  Through hidden channels, North Korea irons out a one-on-one interview with Jong-un and Skylark.  The CIA recruits the two to poison Kim.  And, hijinks happen along the way. 

There are two elements that really are very good in the movie.  One, Rogen and Franco’s friendship really is very well written.  You can tell Rogen and Franco are good friends and it carries into the movie.  They’re bros and they love each other.  The other thing is the relationship between Kim Jong and Franco’s character.  There is actually a bond between the ruthless leader and Skylark that I find rather touching in a strange sort of way.  Their friendship becomes the main plot in the second act.  You almost feel for this version of Kim Jung-un…almost. 

Randall Park plays Kim Jung-un and he’s the breakout character/actor.  He sort of plays him feminine with some hidden ruthlessness thrown in for good measure.  He’s portrayed a kid with a lot of toys, yet he’s isolated.  Like his real counterpart, he’s into western things such as cars and basketball (plus Katy Perry).  Park is great as the “evil” leader.  (You also get a scene with Kim’s ass in all its glory if you’re into that sort of thing.)  His character takes a “heel-turn” later in the movie with a wonder couple of payoffs too and two Katy Perry bits. 

Did I mention there is a cute puppy in the movie? 

Diana Bang plays the other major character.  Bang is extremely fun to watch morph into an action hero from a sort meek-by-the-numbers supporter of the North Korean government.  Being a straight male, it is my duty to say that I found her to be very cute and sexy.  Damn.  She may very well be the true hero of the movie. 

There is a scene early in the second act that I found funny because the lengths it goes it a situation. Rogen has to sneak out of the NK compound and retrieve an item from a drone.  I love how the scene keeps getting sillier and sillier with each added element.  I don’t want to spoil it for you, but it is clearly an Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen scene. 

There are some subtle jabs at Americans too like the NK guards truly hating dealing with the two American guests.  They actually speak insults to Rogen in Korean face to face and I loved it.  The fact the CIA has to rely on two bumbling man-child guys to complete this serious mission is also a nice little jab. 

The movie actually tries to tackle some serious issues later in its act three that are surprisingly relevant in the political climate this movie has created. 

 Freak or Geek? 

AirAsia missing...

AirAsia missing...

From CBS, ((An astonishingly tragic year for air travel in Southeast Asia turned worse Sunday when an AirAsia plane carrying 162 people disappeared over stormy Indonesian waters, with no word on its fate despite several hours of searching by air and sea. ))

Are we in some strange Alt-world where planes just end up disappearing? By the way, we STILL haven't found the remains of that Malaysian Airlines flight. Plus, that other Malaysian plane was shot down. Man, this is really making me uneasy about flying.

It is frustrating to not know what happened to these planes. I feel for these families.

This is so messed up. 

Why am I getting vibes of Lost with these missing flights?  On that show, two planes go missing because of warps in space transport the planes near the island.  

Let's talk about shoes...

Please stop buying overpriced Nike shoes

 Did you know someone was killed recently over a pair of Jordans?  

Please, black community, can we please stop falling for this overpriced scam that is in the form of Air Jordans. I never understood the sway of wearing these overpriced and over-designed shoes had on black teens. I remember people looked at you like a king if you got the new Air Jordans. 200 dollar! The most I will pay for in shoes is around 40 bucks and I keep my shoes forever. I think my current shoes are around 10 years old both pairs.

That's always made me an outcast in the black community because I refused to buy any Nike over 40 bucks and never wore too many name-brand shirts of jackets, which in turn guaranteed me NOT getting any pussy.

I'm not dissing shoes all the way, because I'd love to get my hands on some of those future Nike shoes from Back to the Future II. I just feel the way we go stark raving mad for shoes is troubling. 

 

As the video stated above, a writer for The Root attempted to defend this action of buying overpriced shoes. I actually find defending this misguided practice troubling. I thought the Root was better than this. I though I'd take a stab at her defense against the practice of worshiping shoes. 

The sneakers are art: Okay, fine but massed-produced shoes sort of lose their value when they're made for shitty wages in foreign countries. And, as a rule, do art collectors shoot and rob other art collectors on a daily basis like we do? And, I am sorry, Diana, don't use Puffy as your argument. I also have a problem with people buying these shoes when many of the buyers don't have much else going for them. This is part of a bigger picture problem. We don't need to buy everything for the name brand.

Retail prices are the cheapest option: Yes, fine, but that still doesn't explain the super markup on these things. According to many reports, it only takes 16 dollars to make a pair of Air Jordans in China. Many of these retro shoes go as far as 300 at retail price. Where is the outrage in the black community over this shit? Okay, so you make this a point to mention that getting a limited edition shoe in a store comes out cheaper, but it doesn't make it right. Do we as a community put as much effort into education or other things like we do for fashion?

The sneaker resale market is bookoo rich.  : The joke is on you, Jack. Because Nike makes a lot of money off these shoes more than you would.

Random Things (Single version)

Random Things

 ~Roberto Orci will not be writing anymore of Star Trek 3: Funny how things seem to be falling apart without JJ around. It looks like Orci is slowly being pushed out of the movie. I believe he will be out of the project completely in a few weeks. BTW, Fast and Furious director Justin Lin will direct Trek 3. Now, he has a lot of work to do to clean up all the mess left behind with Orci's departure from the directing chair. I think this is the right decision. Heck, bring in a new director for each movie to keep it fresh. 

 ~Dustin Diamond Arrested?: I hated Screech and I hated the actor behind the character even more. He has tried everything sleazy to stay famous from a shitty porn tape to a bunch of bad reality shows, but getting arrested in Wisconsin. He was carrying a switchblade. Carry any blade of that manner is against the law in WI. Oh did I mention his Lifetime movie about saved by the bell was pretty shitty? I love how he tried to distance himself from the movie after it was released.  

~How the Chinese view The Interview: Chinese movie watchers have their own views on this thing. Some actually like the movie. I haven't scene it yet, but some people felt disappointed with the movie. I love that the movie is being seen though. The relationship between China and NK has been rocky of late.  Namely, New Kim killed off one of China's strongest allies. 

Damn...

~Karrueche Tran engaged to Chris Brown?: Well, it's your funeral. This man has a history of violence and beating people up. He's going to turn on you and beat the living crap out of you. Why are you still dating him? Yep, he broke up with you on numerous occasions and got back with Rih. You will always be the “other” woman in his mind, Tran. He's your problem now, asshole. Don't be shocked when he turns his hand on you. Stop the victim-hood. BTW, you're cute and can have any man other than Chris Brown. 

 Hey, I'm single...Hey, you're my type maybe we can go out to Denny's and grab a bite to eat?  Do you like videogames?  Do you like bloggers?  Nevermind...

Inside Star Trek: The Real Story. some thoughts

  I've been re-reading the Rob Justman/Herb Solow book called Inside Star Trek: The Real Story. Here are a few things worth noting. I'll have a few more to post in another post. 

  

-Gene LOVED women. He really loved trying to bed them...sometimes in his office. It should be noted that there is more than a bit of sexism in his original series with a lot of the famale guest stars being portrayed as very pretty but bit of airheads. The sexism does bother me in the TOS episodes and this partly goes back to Gene's view of women. As the movies were ripped away from Gene, the women started to be written better with stronger roles.

 -Nichelle Nichols allegedly would show up to Gene's office either completely naked or only wearing a sweater. I am not making this up. Nichelle herself has admitted that she had a relationship with Gene before and during the show. Nichelle was a lovely woman and could you imagine some of the producers walking into the office and seeing this lovely woman naked waiting for Gene? 

  -Leonard Nimoy and Gene had a major falling out that was never healed even before his death. Nimoy wanted meatier scenes, and Gene felt threatened by it. Nimoy was considered a nice guy that looked out for his fellow actors...unlike Shatner. Nimoy would later go on and take control of the franchise via being a director/writer/producer. I know things got very heated when it came to development of Star Trek The Motion Picture and the Phase II stuff with Gene trying to get Nimoy back.  Nimoy wanted nothing to do with the franchise because he felt they screwed him over.

 

-Shatner had a huge hissy fit when a magazine did a special on Nimoy. He wasn't getting the attention and shouted and stormed out. Pure Shatner. Shatner also felt threatened by Nimoy's popularity and the producers had to deal with Shatner's ego.

-Lucille Ball , who owned the studio the show was filmed on, hated hearing stories about Gene's conquests in his office and attempted to put an end to it. It didn't happen. Ball hated men cheating on their wives and took this to heart, but nothing came of it and Gene still kept banging actresses/extras and models in his work office.

-The NBC Executive that worked with the show clashed by Gene and the other producers. By the way, he was one of the few African American Executives out there.

About that Michael Brown Song...

 About that Michael Brown Song...

Yes, this is actually offensive. I certainly give the black community a lot of flack not focusing on the real problem of black on black crime. However, no one can dismiss this extremely racist video and further supports why the black community doesn't trust the police. Even I get nervous around police officers because it only takes on shitty cop to bust a cap in my ass.

Why in the heck would someone even bother singing such a racist song in the age of cell phones? Everything gets recorded now-a-days. Just ask Mitt Romney.

From Daily Mail, ((An outraged attendee at the party filmed part of the song when they realized nobody was objected to the new, racist lyrics. Sources told TMZ around 30 retired and serving cops were at the party, thrown by retired LAPD officer Joe Myers.))

Public relations with the police is at an all time low and now this surfaces.

Look, Michael Brown was a thug and part of the major problems within the black community as a whole, but he didn't deserve to be shot down like that. He was unarmed. It just bothers me that police officers can't see that. There is a divide within the black community and there are those that are sick of the crime and drug dealing going on and would like to work with local PD to clean up the areas, but behavior like this makes it harder for us to side with PD overall.

Directors vs Directors rap battle

Directors vs Directors rap battle

I love this rap battle. While I like Michael Bay's song, I think Alfred Hitchcock is the better rapper with some disses. And, I love the Megan Fox mention. The makeup is very good and I love the Michael Bay hairpiece.

 My only two gripes are they didn't make fun of Bays embarrassing exit from a stage earlier this year. And, what about a cameo by George Lucas? 

 

Fedora-Hating?

Fedora-Hating? 

  I remember when fedoras were considered cool and a throwback to the olden days. I used to work with a guy at work that wore one of these fedoras...even during the summer time. I kind of hated those hats, but I am more of a hoodie guy myself because it covers everything and keeps the world out (plus it covers my eyes).

I've started to see more and more fedora hating of late, plus some strange/fake youtube comments talking about being offended by something in the video. Now, I find these comments funny, some have started to hate them and created an add-on to combat them. So, I guess we can call it fedora-shaming (trendy)

One thing that is overlooked though is that fedoras actually made a comeback in the mid-late 90s when the swing band craze went into effect.

The best part is the meme sort of started with a picture from the actor Jerry Messing. He actually reveals where it came from. He was doing head-shots and the camera guy had film left. So, he did the hat-tip thing for “fun” and used it for his profile. It is kind of strange that this mere decision launched a million memes. 

 

Man crashes his SUV into a couple of cop cars

Man crashes his SUV into a couple of cop cars

And, I thought I had anger issues. 

This guy left, called his woman yelling at her and drove back and rammed his SUV into some cop cars. Who does this? They could have easily arrested him for the way he acted before the incident, but let him go. Plus, he's lucky they didn't fill him with bullet holes given that he attempted to kill them. Wow, the cops really showed restraint in this case.

From The Daily Mail, ((Plain was arrested and transported to the Black Hawk County Jail where he was charged with first-degree criminal mischief and two counts of assaulting a police officer.))

I'd charge him with attempted murder. 

This happened in Waterloo (US), I am looking for a  Napoleon joke...

EB Games (Rivals)

EB Games (Rivals)

I was checking Reddit and stumble across this really bad commercial.

Copy that.

The acting is horrible and I am laughing at the shitty line delivery.

The worst actor in the ad is the EB employee. Did they just get an EB Games employee to do the ad instead of hiring an actor? Holy cow. Also note his gestures in the background when the COD player knocks the other one in the glass.

By far the funniest thing about the ad is the EB Games employee's super long neck. This guy is like Mr. Fantastic. I mean look at that thing.

Oh, and the video has a low rating on YT. Copy that.

Speaking of this North Karea/Sony thing...What about Dennis Rodman?

Speaking of this North Karea/Sony thing...What about Dennis Rodman? 

  Where does the clown of frown fit into this overall NK story? He's been in the background for a while now and not making an ass of himself. However, after doing some digging, it looks like Rodman did have something to say about the movie before the hacking.

From USA Today, ((“When I came back [from North Korea] they were talking about making that movie. That’s a shame. It’s such a shame,” Rodman said. “They blast me, when I’m the one who went and talked to him four times. Now all of a sudden they’re going to make a joke about the guy. Nobody’s giving them flack at all. They make a joke about it, ‘You want us to go over and kill him?’ and they say yes. That’s supposed to be funny. That’s the kind of thing that’s a Catch-22. You’ll blast me but you won’t blast this. At least I made history and that’s why you made a movie about it. You made a comedy out of it.” ))

Now, he has nothing to say about the situation. He refuses to talk about it. He always presented himself as an outspoken guy, now he clams up.  Okay, Rodman.

Also, no one is talking about the fact that Dennis Rodman pistachio commercial has disappeared. I can't find it anywhere. The ad was released back in 2013. Did the pistachio guys remove it over heat? 

 

Again, George Clooney speaks the truth (The Interview)

Again, George Clooney speaks the truth.

Clooney has this to say via Deadline, (("We should be in the position right now of going on offense with this. Stick it online. Do whatever you can to get this movie out. Not because everybody has to see the movie, but because I'm not going to be told we can't see the movie. ))

I couldn't agree more. I'd say release it online. Heck, if Sony won't even bother making money from it, just release it for free. The Internet is probably the only place to say F' it and F' you to North Korea.

(("That's the most important part. We cannot be told we can't see something by Kim Jong Un, of all f***ing people." ))

Agreed, this is a leader that put his uncle to death for defending his own property. I hope people haven't forgotten about that.  He's more of a joke than his father, but far more brutal too.  

Uh, The Interview is canceled

Uh, The Interview is canceled

Wow, I am really pissed off about this story, but torn too.

IGN is claiming that the Feds believe that North Korea is the one behind the attacks against Sony. However, it looks like they hired some hackers in China to do the dirty deed. 

  Here's the thing; this now opens the door for anyone that's offended by a movie to threaten violent attacks on a movie or video game release. However, we do know that people can and will carry out mass shootings and bombing to get their points across such as the Boston bombing and the theater shooting. It only takes one to scare the shit out of people.

However, this still makes me mad and I can't believe I am siding with Newt Gingrich today. From Newt's Twitter Page, ((No one should kid themselves. With the Sony collapse America has lost its first cyberwar. This is a very very dangerous precedent. ))

I was actually going to see this movie to support Seth and the studio, but now we won't get to see it. Also, it should be noted that the movie would have made its budget back due to it being around 45 million. And, I can't yell at Sony because all you need is one shooting and a lot of people are going to blame you for it. I honestly can't see how Sony could have gotten out of this.

Damn, I am speechless. I can't believe this happened.

I'll have more to say some time later. 

 

The Salad Mixxer (Adult Swim Infomercial)

The Salad Mixxer (Adult Swim Infomercial)

Holy crap this funny as hell. I love the expressions on the ladies faces when when he keeps bringing out a sexually charged items. Man, these fake ads are freaking great.

-Wait, one of the women got it stuck in her...? And, it is still on.

-I love the Mega-Mixer. Plus, they made it black. Very subtle.

-Did he have to make those noising when “mixing the salad”?

-Basically, this guy created these items for food preparing and people turned them into sex toys.

-The Mega-Mixer actually shakes the film out of frame!

-I love how the Modern ad has pornstars selling his items. It looks like most of the modern actors are indeed pornstars. I only recognize Bridgette B.

-Please note the “XXX” in the product's title. 

 Holy shit...

_____________________________________________________

 

Random Photos of Trains around Louisville

Random Photos of Trains around Louisville

Here are a few photos of trains I've taken pictures of around Louisville. And, I'll share them with you here. I might go out and take a few more of certain trains out there later in the day. 

Sony Leaks II: George Clooney is a good guy

Sony Leaks II: George Clooney is a good guy

These leaks have shown that most of these actors are pretty much the same people you do see interviews. David O Russel is still a complete and utter dick and no one should ever hire him for anything. But, George Clooney is a nice guy that actually cares about his work. The Sony leaks go to show that he was very troubled with the reviews to his movie, which he directed and wrote, The Monument Men. There really are some cool people out there in Hollywood. 

 From JustJared, ((“I need some protection from all the reviews,” George reportedly wrote. “Let’s just make it a hit. I haven’t slept in 30 hours. And it’s 7 am.” ))

He talks about not sleeping over 30 hours. I can actually relate to this a lot. I'm not one of these guys that can put setbacks aside like most people. It keeps me up all day and night. I get depressed and that mean little voice in my head says that I am shit and you just give it all up. The thing that makes Clooney a winner is he doesn't let setbacks take him out of the playing field. And, he goes right back in ready to play ball. That makes him a winning horse (I know I am mixing metaphors). I let setbacks really dig into me and keep me from functioning. I will also cut that portion out of my life when that happens. I admare people that have their worlds come crashing down on them and get backup saying, “What's next?”

Clooney's film got ripped by critics with a 31% and only a 44% by the audience. It was distributed by Columbia in the US and Fox in other areas. While it wasn't a huge hit, the 70 million dollar movie did make 155 Million back. However, the movie was shared by three studios and that money goes three ways. It needed to be a bigger hit.

This is the guy that ruined Batman and he got right back up.

Battlefield Earth (Repooped) (Mega Post) With Endless options for renewal. Endless options for renewal.

  Battlefield Earth (Repooped) (Mega Post)

I LOVE to hate this movie.  Like me, the Internet loves to take a shit on this piece of shit.  And, they're right.  BE is that bully that finally got its ass kicked and now everyone is taking a kick or punch for paybacks.  I find the more I watch, the more pure golden comedy I discover in each scene.

I actually tried explaining this shitty movie to is a movie fan like myself, but I'm not sure I conveyed the sheer shitty nature of said movie. Heck, I even tried to explain to him that the main villain tries to prove how much of a badass he was by shooting the legs off some damn cows. Slow Moving Cows!!!  We got a badass villain here.  I guess he's going to make us hamburgers too. 

 Vader never had to do this.  

I kind of like the fact that David Miscavige had something to do with this shitty movie. I also like that Tom Cruise even hated the movie. Mr. Scientology himself hated the movie.

For me, it might be the worst movie I can sit down and watch all the way through. Keep in mind I can't finish The Room. BE on the other hand needs to be watched over and over again because it is on such an epic fail made by people completely detached from reality. John Travolta is supposed to have healing powers with his hands.

I also love that a studio working on the film stole money from the actual production. From IMDB, ((The investor, Intertainment, sued producer Franchise Pictures for fraud. Franchise claimed the budget was $75 million instead of the actual budget of $44 million. Franchise Pictures were sentenced to pay Intertainment $121.7 million in damages and went bankrupt. Intertainment only financed the film because it came as a package deal with The Art of War (2000) and The Whole Nine Yards (2000). ))

Interainment didn't want anything to do with the movie, but it got lumped in. Also, this happened with the funding of Superman IV too. Either Golan-Globus Productions or Cannon Films skimmed a portion of the intended budget of Superman IV off the top and funded other movies. Isn't this illegal? 

My favorite reaction is Kim Coates'. He clearly is not a fan of it despite the fact he was in it.

I loved the famous boardroom scene.

Klinko vs. Chinko

Yes, that's extremely racist. L Ron supposedly named the knowledge AI after a racial slur. However, the script writers changed the name. L Ron wasn't a fan of races other than white. I guess his alleged hatred of Asian people found its way into his books. 

Now, who is more racist those Klinko aliens or the villains from Episode I? 

  Now, the best part is John Travolta does NOT regret making (spearheading) BE. Not one bit.

From Daily Beast, ((No way, are you kidding? Why would I ever regret that? I had the power to do whatever I wanted, and I chose to do a book that I thought was worthy of making into a movie. It’s a beautiful film. It’s a good movie. Again, the media angle confused the movie with… ))

Holy, Xenu, JT, you actually even shocked me with that response. He's completely delusional. I also remember him talking about doing some sequels just as the movie was starting to bomb. I guess somewhere L Ron is looking down on JT and smiling.

And, the best comment has to go to a person from flickeringmyth.com by the commenter Endless options for renewal ((Endless options for renewal. Endless options for renewal. Endless options for renewal. Endless options for renewal.))

BTW, I actually know someone that loves and defends this movie. He even gave a copy of the movie as gift to another friend. I actually laughed in his face when he told me the movie is a great action movie. Ever time he defended the movie, I felt compelled to remind him why I felt differently. (Though, he did introduce me to DBZ and I got to watch his entire collection of the series up to the first part of the Boo saga)  Later the other friend told me, “That was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Why does he like this movie so much?  I wasn't going to break his heart and tell him that.”

I've been watching a bunch of reviews for about the movie from various YT'ers and I've gotten a good chuckle out of it.